Actual wallet that can hold 3x5 cards?

11-18-2012, 10:15 PM

My husband is really interested in a wallet like the Levenger International Briefcase without the price tag. He likes using 3x5 cards but the fact that he never has them on him when needed is a system leak. He isn't willing to carry just a note taker wallet because he wants something that will replace his actual wallet since he doesn't want to be carrying even more than he does anyway.

All he carries in his wallet are obviously driver's license, medical card, couple cards, & a little cash, so it seems like we should be able to find something that would hold all that and a few 3x5 cards without being too bulky. He isn't married to the cards being 3x5 either (though that is the size he is used to using) if they'd need to be smaller to fit something that would work and also be less expensive.

He doesn't want the kind that you have to buy replacement paper pads for, just the kind that holds cards. I think the international briefcase would be perfect, but he has absolutely refused to spend $59. Any nice knock offs out there?

I think the international briefcase would be perfect, but he has absolutely refused to spend $59. Any nice knock offs out there?

I haven't heard or seen of any knockoffs. Why not get family to chip in and call it a Christmas present?

Or look at it using CPW (Cost per wear). A good leather wallet like that should last 15 years minimum and maybe as long as 30. That works out to between $2-4 per year. If he's making $8/hr wage (Colorado minimum wage) at worst it's half an hour of work to pay for the year of use. What is his time worth? What will having something that works well for him do in terms of personal satisfaction?

The only other option I can think of is to find a wallet meant to carry business cards, and then change the format of his cards to be blank business cards. You can buy blank ones at Paper Direct and I am sure many other places.

Good tools are never an extravagance. I have tools and items I bought 30 years ago that are still perfectly serviceable. I have antique tools that are over 100 years old that I use nearly every day. While leather goods are not as durable as metal hand tools the principle applies.

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He doesn't want the kind that you have to buy replacement paper pads for, just the kind that holds cards. I think the international briefcase would be perfect, but he has absolutely refused to spend $59. Any nice knock offs out there?

I have seen knock-offs this time of year in local office supply stores for much less. They are not of the quality I would want in a leather wallet, and I carry an old Eagle Creek nylon wallet most of the time. However, they are functional, and might be good for a low-cost test run. With the 3x5 pocket briefcase and wallet, there is the issue of size: even the smallest slim pocket briefcase fills a shirt pocket and many pants pockets. If one habitually carries a wallet in a suit coat pocket, it's less of an issue. Levenger also makes a smaller wallet for business card-size notes, but I haven't seen it.

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Try a passport wallet. They would be big enough.
I like the wallets by All-ett, and they have a passport sized one that is about 4 inches by 5 inches. I use their regular wallet but it is just about 1/2 inch too small in the length of a 3 x 5 card. I like their nylon wallets because they have minimal bulk.

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Good tools are never an extravagance. I have tools and items I bought 30 years ago that are still perfectly serviceable.

I agree, but there isn't really anything I can do about it if he doesn't agree.

I have seen knock-offs this time of year in local office supply stores for much less.... With the 3x5 pocket briefcase and wallet, there is the issue of size: even the smallest slim pocket briefcase fills a shirt pocket and many pants pockets. If one habitually carries a wallet in a suit coat pocket, it's less of an issue.

Yeah we are concerned about size too mostly because he hates a thick wallet so much, which is why he carries almost nothing in his. He refuses to have it in a back pocket when he is sitting down, and he does tend to carry it in a suit coat pocket if that makes a difference.

We are looking into seeing whether he'd take notes on blank business cards, but he just feels they are too small. I am not sure what the answer is going to be for us.

Thanks for the passport wallet idea. We're looking into those but so far what we are finding are rather large.

There is a knockoff called the Jotter. It is sold in Atlanta in a local Artlite Pen Store. However, Staples has a cheaper knockoff in their M line of products. See link below:

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Get the International Pocket Briefcase by Levenger - worth every penny

Get the International Pocket Briefcase by Levenger. I put off getting one because of the price, but eventually bit-the-bullet and bought it. I've never looked back. There is nothing easier to jot notes down on than 3x5 cards; and the international pocket briefcase by Levenger can hold a good stack of them. I've been very pleased with it. If your husband jots his ideas on both 3x5 cards and 8x11 paper (as I do), have him check out my David Allen folder "hack" for creating the Perfect Portable Inbox for both paper types.